Of Badgermoles and Wolftails
by Feathertickler
Summary: A collection of stories and drabbles based on everyone's favorite warrior and earthbender duo, from the Tokka100 project on LJ. Ch 7: Taste. "He would have to take one for the team."
1. Time

**Author's Note**: Heeey there, all! This is being done for the Tokka 100 challenge over at Live Journal, except I'm not really… Entering. Because I don't want the pressure of having to make them under 100 words. xD Except, they'll all probably be pretty short anyway, so yeah. But I don't take credit for the idea. I'll also be doing them in order (-gasp!-), simply because I enjoy doing that. Tokka and Kataang are my absolute FAVORITE avatar ships, so I hope I'm doing it justice! As a result, there may be Kataang mentions in there, just as a warning. I would really love to get reviews/critique, etc, as this'll be my first time in a while writing fan-fiction. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it!

Also, it's rated T to be safe, as there is almost certainly going to be mentions of alcohol, having babies, and some other "mentions" of things, if you know what I mean (but nothing explicit!)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender, nor the Tokka 100 idea-thingeh. If I owned Avatar, I would have much too much trouble fighting the urge to not have Sokka and Toph get much more shippy moments. x3

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**001: Time**

"Yoo-hoo, earth to Toph!"

"What?!"

A jump from the blind earth bender revealed that she had been lost in thought, not something she was known to do. Blind eyes glared in the direction that she felt the intrusion was coming from. It was unusual for the girl to be caught unawares; She had of course known that he was _there_ seeing as they'd been sitting there for a while. People often said that time stood still while one was fishing.

It had been Sokka's grand idea to teach Toph to swim, which she had flatly all-out refused. So, he decided to teach her how to fish instead. Even though she wouldn't be able to see anything that she was doing, she would still be able to feel the fish on the line and be able to pull it in (of course, with the risk that it would simply fly up and hit her in the face.) It still made her wonder why he wanted to teach her something so badly. Normally, she would hate the idea of someone having to teach her something, but she had sensed the earnestness in Sokka's voice and knew that he didn't want to do it just because he felt her incapable, but because she was his friend. So, grumbling that he better not push her in the water, she had been dragged along. They'd been there for a long time already, and neither had caught anything. The warm summer sun had taken it's toll on the girl, and she had been, in simplest terms, "zoning."

"I just wanted to know if you caught anything yet." The young water tribe warrior asked innocently. This caused the girl to groan and shake her head.

"Sokka. If I had caught anything, you would know. You're sitting right next to me!" She replied in an annoyed voice. Honestly, as smart as the boy was with things like plans, he could be really dense with other things.

"…Oh… Right." Sokka agreed. "But, I just wanted to make some conversation, it's so quiet!" He argued.

"I thought you were supposed to be quiet while you were fishing," Toph countered as she gestured towards the pond. "And are you sure there are even any fish in this pond? Neither one of us have caught anything!" She continued. She had never been fishing before, but she assumed that it actually involved fish, somehow.

"Of course there are, can't you see them?" Sokka said indignantly.

"Yeah, you're right! They're so great, how did I not see them before?" Toph replied sarcastically, putting on a fake smile. It was silent for a moment.

"…Right. Sorry." Sokka said hastily.

There was silence for a few more moments, before Toph felt Sokka stand up and head towards the water.

'What are you doing?" She demanded, following his movement curiously.

'I'm catching a fish the old fashioned way!" Sokka announced proudly. "Come on, you too!"

"What part of 'I can't swim' don't you understand?" Toph replied, this time with slight annoyance. Normally she loved when Sokka forget that she was blind. It made her glad that he didn't just think of her as a blind little girl, but as _normal_. Still, this was the second time this morning she had reminded him about the swimming part alone.

"It's shallow, you'll still be able to touch the ground." Sokka insisted. He had reached the water now, and from the sounds she hear was standing in it.

"I still can't feel anything, it's too sandy, like in the desert." She replied simply. He shrugged, then remembering she couldn't see that, spoke.

"Don't worry, I'll help you! I'll hold onto you." The eagerness in his voice, and the fact that he had just said he would _hold _her made Toph's face blush faintly. Hoping against hope that he wouldn't notice, she hesitatingly thought it over. As strange as it might have sounded, the idea made her feel terrified and excited at the same time.

"Well…" She started, but she couldn't finish because at that moment Sokka started splashing the water right towards her.

"Come on, come one!" He teased, continuing to splash her. Deciding to not beat him up this time, Toph sputtered through the water in her mouth "Fine, fine!" She stood up, still hesitating a little bit, and headed towards where she knew the pond was. As soon as her feet entered the sandy water, she stopped. The water was cold and refreshing, but as soon as she stepped in it everything seemed completely blurred. She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, it's just me!" Sokka told her, laughing. "Don't get so nervous, it's just a pond, you won't drown." He slowly started moving deeper, gently pulling her along with him. She didn't want to go any deeper, but she didn't want to have to be left alone without him, either. The tough-girl Toph, master earth bender, fearless fighter, had maybe one fear: and that was water. She started walking slowly, immediately disliking the strange swirling feel that sand in the water had as it rose up all around her bare legs. While it was swirling like that, she could "see" nothing. Soon, they were up to their knees.

"Great. Beautiful. Can we be done now?" She insisted, turning around.

"Nope!" Sokka said, with a strangely sneaky voice. "I'm teaching you the basics of swimming today!" He said almost dramatically.

"WHAT?!" Toph yelled, turning back towards him. "You said you were getting a fish, you liar!" She would kick him, if she could find him.

"Yeah, well… Change in plans?" He replied nervously. She seemed like she was going to start yelling at him again, so he spoke quickly. "It's important to know how, at least a little, since we're in water so much! I mean, no one wants you to drown, and even knowing a little can help you!" He started rambling on and on, and Toph, finally getting annoyed, raised a hand to silence him. When he did, she crossed her arms.

"If… It'll get you to shut up, then feel free. But if I drown, I will personally come back as a ghost so I can kill you, and then bring you back to life so I can't have to deal with you in the Spirit World." She said, her voice still seething with anger.

"That's great! I mean, the swimming part, not the killing-me part," He responded cheerfully. Toph sighed.

"Great. Just get it over with, will you?" She pressed him, her arms still crossed.

"Alright, well, first off, you've got to kind of kneel in the water so I can help you." Sokka started, sounding an ever the eager teacher. Toph scowled, but did as he said, very carefully so as to not fall in and under water.

"Alright, I'm just going to grab you around the middle a bit, okay?" He said, and she soon did feel this, her face betraying her and going red again. Suddenly, she was lifted up and was floating on her stomach, having to put her face to the side to stop inhaling the pond water.

"You didn't warn me about that!" She growled as fiercely as she could from such a position.

"Well, what did you expect, you'd be swimming while kneeling?" Sokka returned before continuing with his 'lesson.' "Now, you basically just kick your legs and dip your arms in and out of the water… Just start with kicking your legs. Not so hard!" He sputtered and water splashed his face from her wild kicking.

"Gimme a break, it's my first time!" Toph grumbled. It was a little hard to concentrate, what with him holding her like that. And it was lucky that she couldn't see either, what with his face about as red as hers.

"Alright, well a little gentler… That's it! You've got it! Now the arms…"

This went on for a bit, and finally Sokka had decided that Toph was getting the hang of it. Which, of course, led to him letting her go. Which then led to Toph being so immersed in her pride of kicking and splashing that she didn't even notice at first, and was actually a bit away from him before she did. But, she found out soon enough.

"Sokka!" She yelled, being so surprised that she dropped under the water for a moment. It wasn't deep enough for her to not be able to simply stand up, but she did inhale a bit of water and was coughing when Sokka quickly helped her up. He expected her to be yelling and screaming at him for what he had done, but rather, as soon as she finished coughing she started smiling widely, not a normal sight (unless she was, of course, making fun of him.)

"Can… We do that again?" She asked him, resulting in him smiling just as wide.

They said that while fishing, time stood still. While "fishing" with Sokka, Toph really wished that was true.

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**AN**: So, there you have it, the first installment. It's not that great, but the fishing thing is the first thing that came into my head when I though of 'Time.' x3 It's also not extremely obvious-type Tokka, but we can't have every one being too lovey-dovey, can we? It's Toph and Sokka, for crying out loud! But I've wanted to write about Sokka trying to teach Toph to swim for a while now, so there you have it. I won't write such long comments for the rest, I assure you! Well, I hope you enjoyed and review! See you next time!


	2. Past

**002: Past**

Their pasts couldn't be more different.

He grew up the son of the village chief, exposed to the war practically since he was born. There were no more water benders (until his sister came along, that is,) but they continued their raids just to make sure. His earliest memory of one of them was when he was very young, sitting near the water and seeing a ship on the horizon, curious as to what it was. Before he could ask, his mother had shooed them all inside, and the anxiousness of everyone around him helped him to not ask questions, for once in his life, and it seemed as if the danger soon passed without anything terrible happening. Later in life he would wonder why they had been so, dare he say it, "peaceful" that day.

But, there were other raids, more and more of them as time went on. Of course, the one that stood out most vivid in his mind was the day his mother died. She had actually died as a waterbender in the fire nation's eyes. While never possessed of the gift herself, she had a daughter who was. A daughter who was still too young to really be able to control it. When a soldier spotted water floating about her and her mother, his mother informed him it was her who was the bender, and after a struggle that the terrified Katara could only see from afar as her mother had ordered her flat out to run beforehand, culminated in her death, marking the hardest time in the family's life.

Then, the warriors went away, leaving him with the task of protecting the village. Leadership was thrust upon him; he was expected to protect them, even if he didn't always seem like the type that could. He had to do it, for their sake. They all looked to him for that sort of thing, although no one would ever admit it. He had responsibilities.

Then there was her life. Born one day, blind to her incredibly wealthy parents' dismay, she had hardly ever left the large estate her parents lived on. Forced to be someone she wasn't (a subdued, obedient, fragile little girl) she had to grow up doing everything her parents asked. She was unable to even see the world for what it was, before learning bending from the badgermoles. This, was perhaps her happiest moment, for it was then that she fully realized that she could _see_, even if it was in a way no one understood. Sneaking out, fighting in tournaments… It was the only was she could keep some shred of herself, the _real_ her that wasn't afraid to get dirty and fight, and loved laughing and joking around. That laugh that he loved so much… How had her parents gone so long without hearing it for what it really was? How could she have ever truly been able to express her wonderful self to them, when they wouldn't let her?

So, she was pressed to become someone she wasn't, hidden from the outside world and finally rebelling. He was given any freedom a normal kid could have, before being giving responsibilities that he bet she would have dreamed of having, even if just for a change before they met up. When she joined the group, she was absolutely overjoyed at finally being able to be herself, and even though their pasts' were different and had played out in entirely different places, they weren't so different after all.

Even though their pasts were different, their future would always be together.

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**Author's Note**: Eh, don't care much for this one. Just a drabble, kind of from Sokka's point of view. But, anyway, I'll be updating and adding a lot in a short amount of time, because I had already done a lot of these and have them saved. xD


	3. Future

**003: Future**

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I'm going to throw up."

Sokka and Aang both stood staring in a long mirror. Aang looked happy and excited, and Sokka looked… Well… Exactly like he said: like he was going to throw up.

"Come on, Sokka, it's not that scary! I did it, remember?" Aang reminded him, still cheerful.

"Yeah, and you were so nervous you really did throw up," Sokka said, a grin flashing across his face momentarily. Aang frowned.

"That's not true- that was the day before, and that's because you spiked my drink at my bachelor's party with who-knows-what. You're lucky that hang-overs are healable, Sokka, or it might've ruined my own wedding day." Aang countered indignantly. Sokka laughed, although it came out as more of a sort of nervous gurgle.

"Oh, even your marriage to Katara, whom you haven't shut up about since? 'She's so beautiful and wonderful and amazing and-'" Sokka received a small blast of air to the face before he could finish his sentence. The two started laughing.

"You're right. That's not much of a difference from before you got married, either." Sokka continued. There was a knock on the door and Katara's voice could be heard whispering "5 minutes, guys!" before her footsteps were heard walking away. Aang looked over at Sokka, who was trying to straighten his wedding tunic, which was a traditional water tribe one. And, it was also rather uncomfortable.

"Well, ready to go get married?" Aang asked with a smile. Sokka gulped, then nodded, smiling. The two walked out of the room and headed out. There were a ton of people waiting already; Practically all of the Southern Water Tribe, and much of the Northern One, with Pakku and Gran-Gran sitting next to each other, holding hands. Toph's parents were there, having finally approved of the marriage, seeing how Sokka seemed strong enough to "protect their fragile daughter." Zuko, Mai, Ty Lee, Iroh, and Ursa were seated in their section, and even the Foggy Swamp Tribe was there, wolf-whistling in the back. Smellerbee and Longshot, Pipsqueak and The Duke… It was as if the whole world had come to see the marriage. They finally reached the altar and waited.

Soon the music started playing, and Katara began walking down the aisle. She was wearing the green bridesmaid dress that they had decided Toph would like, sense not knowing what colors looked like she was unable to pick them out herself. Aang was grinning like a maniac next to Sokka, who had to admit it was… "Cute" that they still cared about each other so much after all these years. He had to say that he wholeheartedly approved of their marriage, and he figured that Aang was the best husband for Katara. Of course, he had as of yet not notice that Katara appeared to be… ahh… "Gaining weight" in "suspicious" ways, otherwise he might have had to try and strangle his best man, as brothers should try and do. Then, the music became louder and Toph stepped into position, and Sokka had to take care not to let his jaw drop.

Toph had at first refused to wear a dress, but after some cajoling and assurances that she would never have to wear a dress again if she didn't want to, Katara and Ty Lee and the other girls had picked out a dress that they told her was absolutely beautiful on her.

And Sokka couldn't agree more.

All of his nervousness just faded away the second her saw her. How could he ever have had any doubts about getting married? Toph was perfect; and if wasn't just her beauty. Her confidence, the way she carried herself down that aisle wearing the engagement necklace he had made for her, which regardless of his less than perfect art skills was proclaimed perfect by her after she had ran her fingers over the pendent repeatedly, her humor, her laughter… Everything just fell into place. How could he have ever doubted this? He felt his smile rival Aang's as she walked towards him, and her smile that clearly showed that she had felt his heart beat increase when he saw her. She reached him. And their hands joined, fitting perfectly.

"What do you think?" She whispered. Sokka couldn't speak, so overwhelmed was he by the idea of actually getting married… Getting married to _her_. Even though he was silent, Toph understood. The ceremony soon started. And he knew that he was ready to get married, ready to tackle this particular battle, ready to share his future with this woman for the rest of their lives.

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**Author's Note**: This one's a bit fluffy. x3 Yes, nobody let Sokka plan your bachelor party! You likely won't remember it the next day! xD


	4. Present

**Author's Note: **I guess I should warn you, that if you haven't seen the Western Air Temple or after, don't read this, mmkay? :3 Not much spoilers, just little things, but still.

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**004 Present**

It was a beautiful day. You know, gopher birds singing, sunlight streaming into the temple, all that jazz. The group of friends had all been lounging around, doing practically nothing. It was just too hot. Toph imagined she could feel practically every bead of sweat on each of their body's, interrupting the smooth forms she had grown to know so well. She could have, as well, if her feet had been healed a bit more. They were almost better thanks to Katara's healing prowess, but everything still seemed fairly fuzzy.

They were all just laying there, for the most part. Sokka was on her left, Katara on her right, Aang next to her, and then Zuko, who was sitting rather then laying. Toph could feel him fidgetting, obviously not feeling as relaxed as the others. It wasn't as if they had been sitting there for that long, really- they had just taken a short break from their doings, as the afternoon was traditionally the hottest time of the day.

"Well, then," Zuko started, trying not to sound too "demanding." Toph resister the urge to laugh. He was still so worried about them accepting him- she supposed he had good reason to be, but for as far as she could tell Katara was the only one who hadn't really gotten use to the idea of living with and being friends with their ex-enemy. Still, Zuko was one of those people who had that crazy drive.He probably just didn't feel like being pounced upon for not doing things the way the others did. "I think me and Aang had better get back to training, now. It's highly important that he masters as much as he can before the comet."

Aang must have agreed, because Toph couldn't feel him for a moment before he landed back on the ground, apparently having just air bender himself up.

"Sounds good, Si-" Aang was immediately interrupted.

"If you call me 'Sifu Hotman' one more time I swear-"

"I wasn't going to say that! Honest!"

Toph rolled her opaque eyes as she felt their blurry figured head off to the area they had reserved for their training. Katara sat up as well, seeming to take their lead on trying to get things done.

"I'd better start figuring out what we're having for dinner," She commented. Sokka spoke up (which was something Toph had expected him to do long before.)

"Make it a huge dinner, too. I didn't even have lunch today!" He complained to his sister, who sighed.

"Yes you did, Sokka." She reminded him in a half annoyed, half amused way. She shook her head and stood up, headed towards the inner area and the room where they stored their meager supplies.

"…Oh, yeah." Sokka said cheerfully, sitting up himself. "I forgot. That was a good lunch, too." He continued, apparently remembering now. The two sat in silence for a little longer. Toph was starting to feel uncomfortable about something she had been thinking of, only reinforced by what the others had left for. Deciding to voice it, as she realized it couldn't sound any stupider than anything Sokka had ever said, she spoke up.

"Sokka? Don't you think _we_ should be doing something, too?" She questioned him, turning her head towards the fuzzy outline she knew to be him. He turned his head to her and tilted it inquiringly.

"What do you mean?" He asked, and Toph gave a small sigh of annoyance.

"You know! Helping them, doing _something _useful! I feel so useless while we're here; Zuko and Aang are always training and Katara continues practicing water bending with him and does all the cooking and stuff. I can't even practice earth bending with him, because we're so afraid any tampering with the earth structure here might cause the whole temple to collapse! Come on, I'm sure you've felt useless, too." She said quite suddenly, sounded somewhat angry at her uselessness. If there was one thing she hated to feel, it was useless. And scared, and… Well, it wasn't a feeling she really enjoyed, anyway.

"You're not _useless_," He contradicted her immediately. "You do all sorts of useful stuff! And, if anything, you're fun to joke with," He said fairly. "And I _am_ doing something! I'm thinking of our next plan of action!" He sounded rather proud of this. Toph had been told that in the time of Aang's journey Sokka had become just as proud of his mind as his strength.

"Really? And how's that going, smart-guy?" Toph asked sarcastically, for she wasn't really sure he had been thinking about it at all. Sokka crossed his arms with a 'humph!'

"It's going… Alright. Well, it's going," He started rambling a bit. "But, I figured we need a way to free everyone before we even stand a chance… And we'll have to find a way to make absolute sure that they don't know we're coming this time, and that Aang can redirect lightning like Zuko was telling us about because Spirit Water just isn't that easy to come by, and-" He was finally interrupted by Toph, who spoke over him.

"Fine! I get it, you've been thinking," She admitted, shaking her head. "But still. I feel like we should be helping more. I know I'll be able to do more when we leave here, but…" She trailed off and shrugged. Sokka was silent for a moment, and Toph wondered if her was ignoring her. But he soon spoke again (because really, Sokka never did shut up.)

"Well, you know, Toph… I kind of think we should all be enjoying our time right now." Toph opened her mouth to ask him what the heck he was talking about, but he merely continued. "Because, you know, this time it'll really be it when we head into there. We don't know what'll happen, who might not make it…" He sounded rather unlike himself; he had taken on a serious tone. "Because you never know. This is war. We should really try to enjoy the time we have together now, because we don't know if it'll ever be the same. We have to enjoy the present." It was Toph's turn to be silent for a moment.

"I'm sorry!" He said suddenly. "I didn't want to make you sad, or whatever-" Once again he was interrupted as Toph spoke.

"You're right," She admitted after having thought it over. "We do have to enjoy the present while we have it." Then, out of nowhere, she gave him a punch in the shoulder.

"But don't get used to it, being right isn't a normal occurrence with you." Sokka gave and indignant "Hey!", and the two laughed.

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**Author's Note**: This one wasn't as shippy, it was more friendshippy, looking back on it now, ha ha. Ah, well, it happens, right? x3


	5. Sound

**Author's Note: **Here's number five! I just wanted to really thank Solembum13 and Miyiku for reviewing. It's always good to have feedback on what you're writing, and I really appreciate it! Thank you! Also, I've been forgetting the disclaimer. x3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. Wait, wait, maybe now? Sorry, no.

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**005 Sound**

She knew it.

She knew, every time he head him say her name. It was like a terrible weight on her heart, knowing exactly what it meant, and knowing what would come of it. Every time she heard that one simple word, she felt like either hitting something or, dare she say it, _crying_. Mostly the former.

Being blind, her other senses were rather more sensitive than others might have them. Scent, touch, the whole deal. And then there was her hearing.

Being unable to actually see her friends, she was able to recognize them through their distinct vibrations they gave off. She could tell their feelings from their heart rate and such, but then there was also their voice. While she was never likely to me mistaken for the most perceptive person ever, she could pick up quite a bit more than some people. Just by hearing a person's voice, she could hear what they were like, what they were feeling.

Aang's voice was generally happy and cheerful, showing his love of fun. When he did get serious, she could tell right away. He had been sounding serious a lot more lately, as had Katara been sounding more concerned. Her normally compassionate, dripping of sugar voice was weighed down with worry for her friends and family. Her voice and actions had earned her the name Sugar Queen, and Toph had started calling her it even more, as if in an effort to get her to remember this and start going back to her old self.

And then there was his voice. The thing was, his voice had so many different emotions that it could be hard to pin-point them. Or maybe she was just looking much too hard, much too hard for him to have the one emotion she wished he had when speaking to her.

Most of the time it was positively dripping with sarcasm. If not, it was simply full of the sound people's voices gained when they were trying to crack a joke, especially when trying too hard. Oh, then there was that "Eureka, I've got it!" type of voice, when he had just come up with a brilliant plan and was sharing it with the group, begging them to join in on his genius. That determined voice, when he was talking about fighting the fire nation, rescuing the prisoners, or protecting them. He had his sad moments, too, just like anyone else. The most she remembered hearing it was when he had told her about his mother, and when he was talking about the moon. She never really understood that part, as no one seemed to want to ever bring it up and give her a convenient time to ask. It was hard being the newer member of the group, she reasoned. Still, those were the biggest instances, but not the only ones. Most of the time his voice was goofy, confident, and caring all at the same time. He had that habit of over-dramatizing things, making his emotions so much more than they should be in such a situation. He loved to do that sort of thing. Still, she knew when he was talking about her it wasn't over-doing it. It was the true-blue type of thing.

She had come out of nowhere and started hanging out with him all the time. It was the time that she, Toph, normally spent with him as his self-appointed best friend. They joked around, talked about random stuff, and she would make fun of him a bit. But when he was talking with her, he always had that tint of deeper caring to his voice. He really cared about her, maybe even loved her. Toph wouldn't know exactly, as she had never really heard anyone direct that type of voice at her. Sokka was always worrying about her, asking her if she needed anything, and trying extra hard to please her, make her smile. She did, too, and it only fueled him to go on more. He made her happy, he was happy, Toph sad. He would ask Toph what was wrong, she would say nothing, and attention was immediately returned to the other one again. It wasn't until they had reached the outskirts of Ba Sing Se that she realized that he did really love her.

She hadn't really been paying attention, as she felt it best not to eavesdrop. Well, who was she kidding, she really was. She heard that emotion in his voice again, and they kissed. Toph was full of another emotion as she turned away: That of jealous. She had finally realized that that sound to his voice was indeed love. Did she really deserve to get to hear that coveted emotion in his voice? Did she even hear it at all? Toph didn't think so, and she stood there feeling their vibrations joined together repeating to herself: She doesn't deserve it, she doesn't deserve it. When had they really talked, really bonded like Toph and he had? They had only spent a few days together! How cold h care about her so much?

After they were in the city, things got a little better. She didn't have to really hear him say it anymore, but she still missed hearing that emotion. She was great at hearing emotions in people's voices, and she only wished she could hear him say her name with the same feeling in it as he did with Suki's.

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**Author's Note: **This one's Toph's feelings about Suki's short trip with them on the Serpent's Pass. Kinda one-sided, but Sokka will realise his true feelings! …Eventually. x3


	6. Scent

**006 Scent**

Sokka was a man. So, of course, he was used to hunting and other 'manly' things, and to hunt one had to carefully train their sense, so as to be able to react at the slightest moment to capture their prey.

Well, Sokka hadn't _quite_ finished that lofty goal yet, but it was a work-in-progress, anyway.

For the most part, his sense of smell was advance enough. He had to know the smell of things: dinner, various berries, lunch, presence of other creatures, breakfast… Okay, well, maybe he was limited to the meals. But the point of the matter was that he could smell, and some things he did smell surprised him. What could he say? He was a man of many layers.

While there are doubtlessly many smells that could surprise a person, perhaps the one that surprise him most was the smell of Toph's hair. It was odd; all that surprise in something so simple. Of course, Sokka didn't go around sniffing people's hair. It was an accident, to say the least; one which involved slippery ice at the South Pole that some people were unused to, and a slip-up that ended with the whole Gaang in a dog-pile, with Toph right under Sokka for a few moments as they all tried to sort the whole thing out. And when someone's hair is right under your nose, you can't help but smell it.

It had an… earthy smell, which was of course obvious to most. The girl spent most of her time playing in dirt; what else would she smell like? But then, it wasn't a _dirty_ smell. On the contrary, it was a sort of clean smell, like grass and spring meadows and other un-manly thoughts that Sokka had been almost terrified to think. Still, it was natural, like the rest of her. And then there was a smell of flowers! Katara had to have forced it on the girl; there was no way she would willingly put that good-smelling stuff in her hair of her own volition. Katara had been trying to get them to spend more girl-time together… That was obviously the cause of Toph's foul mood lately. Well, he couldn't blame her. He wouldn't want to be given all those lotions and powders and shampoos… Really, it was just uncalled for! That is, until he smelled it on her.

Which ultimately led up to what seemed, at first anyway, to be a grave mistake.

"Toph, you know, you smell really good!" He had commented as they all shuffled tiredly into the hut they were staying in after hours of travel. It was such a random, almost off-hand, blunt, to the point comment that Toph merely looked at him in confusion at first.

"What?" She said, and it was one of the only times Sokka could think of that she didn't have a smart comeback for him.

"Er, you smell… really… good…" He repeated slowly, now seriously doubting his attempt at giving his best friend a compliment. She seemed to be taking it the wrong way, as her face was turning red. Obviously he'd made her severely angry. Why else would she be changing a color to rival Zuko's new Firelord-Red robes?

"It's some stupid stuff of Katara's, she made me use it!" She finally spoke, turning around and grabbing her small bag to take into her room. "So don't get used to it, Snoozles!"

But he couldn't help but notice that he continued to smell the flowery scent around her as the days went on, although for the life of him he couldn't figure out why she kept using it.

Not that he was complaining.

* * *

**Author's Note:** OH HEY THERE! Sorry I kind of died. I had a busy summer, and now i'm working on college stuff... UGH. But, i'll be updating more often, especially now as Thanksgiving Vacation starts tomorrow. I'll also hopefully be updating my other stories, but this one's getting priority because it's just fun. ;D But once again thanks to all my reviewers/readers/favorites/watchers/etc! I really appreciate it, guys. 3

So, this story's not my favorite, but i'm just getting into the hang of things again. Don't worry! xD


	7. Taste

**007: Taste**

One would think that it would be louder to slam a door shut rather than open one. In most cases this is true, but as Sokka threw open the door that evening, Toph was only reminded of how backwards that man was.

She turned her head towards the direction of the door, where Sokka was now removing his boots and singing loudly and off-key. A wince brought itself to her face accompanied by some snickering as he appeared in the door.

"Toph! What are you doing home so early? I thought classes weren't over for a while." The warrior exclaimed in surprise as he entered the kitchen of their small home. Lately Toph had been teaching Earthbending classes while they stayed on Kyoshi Island. Pretty much every member of the Gaang traveled most of the time (and often together), but they owned small houses in several places so they could be more comfortable about it. They all had houses on Kyoshi Island, however, as it was such a nice peaceful place to stay and so that they could all be together still.

"I came home early just so I could hear your amazing singing," Toph responded dryly. Sokka looked cheered for a moment before he caught on to the sarcasm in her voice.

"Hey-"

"I let them out early for the festival tonight." She cut in, truthfully this time. "And since I'd be home, too, I thought maybe I'd try baking something for it."

Dead silence met this announcement. Sokka gave a nervous gulp.

"B-bake something? Really? Why would you do that?" He spoke slowly and looked wary, as if preparing himself to jump away from any incoming Earthbending strikes in retaliation. Toph merely glared towards him before turning to the stove.

"I know, I know, I don't do the whole cooking thing. Or other 'wifey' things," She said the word "wifey" like it was toxic, and seemed to have made the word up on the spot. "But we're supposed to bring something. I was going to just make you cook, but I didn't think you'd be home in time." Sokka had been taking advantage of their staying on an island to fish to bring in some extra money, and he was lucky, because she was perfectly capable of "making" him do anything, with her strength bending, and… other things.

His wary looked never leaving, Sokka quickly went through several outcomes in his mind. Either the entire festival died of food poisoning, or they all got sick and banished them from the island. Or maybe they'd start a food fight with whatever she had made, and-

"I know what you're thinking, so stop it!"

"Do not!"

"Do too! Come on, just try it!" She sounded impatient, and almost eager. Sokka took a deep breath. Maybe if he ate it all now he could spare the rest of the island. Yes, that's it. He would have to take one for the team. He marched towards the table with a resigned look on his face that went unnoticed by his blind wife, who slammed a plate down in front of him.

It… Almost resembled some sort of fruit pie. It was… blue… But it had crust! And…

Oh, who was he kidding? He was NOT going to be able to do this! He made to scramble out of the chair, but a strong grip kept him in place.

"You're going to eat this and you're going to like it." Toph stated simply, an almost evil grin on her face, her grip never leaving his shoulder.

"…Ouch."

With a trembling hand he reached for the atrocious-looking thing, putting it in his mouth like it was going to be the last thing he ever tasted. It was a few long, heart-pounding seconds before he spoke.

"Wow, you know, that was actually pretty good!""Really?" The eager sound was back in her voice as she replied.

"Yeah, amazing!"

"You can have more, if you want. Screw the festival, we're hungry."

As Toph went back towards the tray of "food", Sokka spit out what was in his mouth, cursing his horrible luck at the same time he thanked his wife's being too excited to realize just how badly he was lying.

* * *

**AN:** This one's really short and bad, and Toph is seriously out of character, but i'm just trying to get back into the groove of things. I can imagine Toph being a REALLY bad cook, but still wanting to do it just to prove she was better than those "wifey" types. She was so hopeful/eager that Sokka would say it was good that she didn't notice his lying- OR MAYBE she did, and is planning revenge for later? Next one will be better, I promise!


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